5 TV Shows To Watch If You Like Anna Pigeon

Folks who adored the first season will be happy to know that USA Network has renewed “Anna Pigeon” for Season 2. After a dry spell of scripted programs, it appears that the cable network is getting back in the game with this outdoorsy crime drama. Tracy Spiridakos plays the titular park ranger, as Season 1 sends Anna out into the wild just in time for things to go wrong at Glacier National Park. But if you’ve already binged every episode, it may be time to look elsewhere.

While we await “Anna Pigeon” Season 2, there’s no reason that you can’t pivot to some other (similar) television adventures. Fans who enjoy the National Park/outdoor aesthetic, the neo-Western flair, book-to-screen adaptations (the USA series is based on the crime novels by Nevada Barr), or the simple police procedural style have plenty of options to choose from. Recent years have offered plenty of options on network, cable, or streaming platforms, and each has its own merits.

“Anna Pigeon” may have finished up its first season, but here are some TV dramas that may scratch the same itch. Just be careful where you step, because things can get wild out there.

Joe Pickett

Perhaps one of the most aesthetically similar shows to “Anna Pigeon” is “Joe Pickett.” What began as a Spectrum Original was soon co-opted by Paramount+ as the streamer expanded its collection of neo-Western productions. Based on the mystery novels by author C.J. Box, this two-season crime drama follows the titular Wyoming game warden (played by Michael Dorman) as he patrols the forestlands that border Yellowstone National Park — and yes, this feels far more national park-y than “Yellowstone.”

“Joe Pickett” tackles a new mystery each season, as Joe finds himself involved in whatever new conspiracy, murder, or strange occurrence that happens in the wilderness surrounding Twelve Sleep County. Alongside his wife, Marybeth (Julianna Guill), and daughters, Joe wrestles with his own darkness and fights to curb his negative impulses for the sake of his family. A true Western hero with a strong moral code, Joe Pickett is the type of hero worth investing in.

Sadly, “Joe Pickett” was canceled after two seasons, which came as a blow to those of us hoping for more. Given that each season followed a largely serialized mystery, the show doesn’t leave too many loose ends, though it does set up some teases that will never be paid off. Fortunately, C.J. Box still drops a new book once a year, so Joe is alive and well on the page.

Untamed

Hitting Netflix only months after co-creator Mark L. Smith’s previous streaming hit “American Primeval,” this is a psychological crime drama “Anna Pigeon” fans will love. While not a procedural, “Untamed” follows National Park Service (NPS) Investigative Services Branch (ISB) agent Kyle Turner (Eric Bana) as he investigates the sudden death of a woman in Yosemite National Park. Things quickly go from bad to worse, and the mystery proves to have more layers than he accounted for.

To make things more complicated, Turner is like Anna not only in job description, but also in that he is still in mourning after a family tragedy. We won’t spoil what all that entails, but that death still haunts him, and it’s with that emotional turmoil in mind that he leans into his work. “Untamed” also boasts one of Sam Neill’s final TV roles as the ISB agent’s mentor Paul Souter, which is another reason to give this one a go.

“Untamed” was initially designed as a limited series. However, critics and audiences have spoken, and the streaming giant has since renewed the program for a second season. How that will play out remains to be seen, but “Anna Pigeon” fans will find a kindred spirit in the first season of “Untamed.”

Big Sky

For another female-led law enforcement procedural that echoes some of the same ideas, “Big Sky” is another crime drama “Anna Pigeon” fans should check out. Like “Joe Pickett,” it, too, is based on mystery novels penned by C.J. Box — specifically “The Highway” in Season 1 — but unlike the streaming series, it paves its own path. Although the series cashed in on the Montana craze post-“Yellowstone,” it couldn’t be further from it.

“Big Sky” follows ex-cop Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) and private eye Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury), two women who had fallen for the same man, as they both investigate the same suspicious events surrounding the abduction of two young women. As the conspiracy unravels, Jenny and Cassie are forced to work together, resulting in an unexpected partnership that would last years. By the second season, Jensen Ackles joins the cast as new Sheriff Beau Arlen.

Sadly, the ABC program only ran for three seasons (the third subtitled “Deadly Trails”), though there was definitely room for more. We knew where we wanted a potential “Big Sky” Season 4 to go, but alas… Either way, the mixture of serialized plotlines and one-and-done episodic adventures kept “Big Sky” on the air for a few years and makes the show still worth revisiting today.

Walker

Okay, Jared Padalecki may not be Chuck Norris, but this “Walker, Texas Ranger” re-imagining has its merits, and was able to successfully push the boundaries of what Texas Ranger Cordell Walker could do. Set the furthest south of any of the entries on this list, “Walker” was a CW reboot that actually found its footing, sending the titular widower into the field as he wrestles with solving his wife’s murder. “Anna Pigeon” fans know the feeling.

As Walker is partnered up first with Mickie Ramirez (Lindsey Morgan, who left the show in Season 2) and later Cassie Perez (Ashley Reyes), he is thrown into a series of seemingly episodic cases that eventually lead to more expansive over-arching mysteries. The reboot balances the titular Ranger’s time on the job with the life he has at home with his family, including his two children. The series was so popular that a Wild West-era prequel, “Walker: Independence,” premiered during Season 3.

“Walker” was canceled after four seasons after the CW, under new management, pivoted away from original scripted shows. Despite a brief Season 5 tease with the late James Van Der Beek, the fourth and final season ended on its own terms.

Alaska Daily

The opposite of “Walker,” this one-and-done ABC program is the furthest north that this list goes, as “Alaska Daily” sends Hilary Swank to the Last Frontier. Swank plays former New York City reporter Eileen Fitzgerald, who, upon being beckoned to Anchorage to write for the “Daily Alaskan,” arrives just in time to work on a story surrounding the community’s missing Indigenous women. Although the series was inspired by real-life events, it is not strictly based on them.

Unlike the other shows listed here, “Alaska Daily” doesn’t revolve around law enforcement. Rather, it takes the crime drama in a different direction by highlighting the role that journalists play in breaking such heart-wrenching stories. As Eileen partners with local reporter Roz Friendly (Grace Dove), the pair spends 11 episodes getting to the bottom of what is happening, hoping to expose the truth no matter what it takes.

“Alaska Daily” was canceled after a single season on ABC, sadly at the same time the network axed “Big Sky.” Nevertheless, fans of “Anna Pigeon” may enjoy this short-lived look at the Great North through the eyes of an intrepid reporter. It may not boast the same breathtaking scenery as the USA Network drama, but it has the excellent leading lady part covered.